1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to providing optimal concentrations for drugs to be administered as medical infusions. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing two to four optimal concentrations for drugs administered as continuous infusions for compliance with JCAHO standards.
2. Background of the Invention
A recent mandate by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (“JCAHO”) requires all pediatric hospitals to alter the manner in which they administer continuous medication infusions to critically ill infants and children. The mandate requires that hospitals choose from among only a few standard concentrations for drugs administered as continuous infusions for all pediatric infusions. Prior to the JCAHO mandate, infusion concentrations were calculated on the basis of a patient's weight. Due to weight variations between patients, each patient likely was assigned a different concentration. As a result, the range of potential concentrations was essentially limitless. The JCAHO mandate forces hospitals to limit this once unlimited range to only a few standard concentrations.
A problem that arises from the JCAHO mandate is that pediatric hospitals are unsure how best to determine these three concentrations. In an attempt to overcome this problem, many hospital pharmacists and medical directors are posting questions on email lists to determine what other hospitals have done to identify the two to four optimum concentrations. Some of the hospitals have developed their own list of three concentrations. Such individually determined concentrations generally vary from hospital to hospital, thereby defeating the very purpose of standardization as mandated by the JCAHO. Conventional techniques for determining the two to four optimum concentrations for about 40 commonly used drugs are tedious, time consuming, trial-and-error approaches that typically require input from physicians, nurses and pharmacists.